Many people go to work each day to a job they hate. The harmful feelings influence their entire life, putting a negative cloud over the home, their friends and many of their other activities. There is a better way to live your life. Meaningful purpose is a driving force that adds enthusiasm to your days. Here are a few steps to get the new career rolling:
Do some self-analysis. Ask yourself -- What really matters to me? What problem or wrong would I like to fix? What do I enjoy? Where are my interests and hobbies? What are my priorities? What is my secret passion? What do I want to do with the rest of my life? Reviewing these questions can give you new insight to where you want to go.
Use your unique genius and talents. Every person is born with a unique set of natural abilities. Talents, such as managing, creating, researching, training others, drawing, can all seem like easy work because you have a natural flair（才能）for them. True happiness comes from combining your natural talents, developing and excelling in them, and working in a field, job, industry that you have a passionate interest in.
Make a decision. Only action can change your life. Read a book. Take vocational tests. Use a good career-management professional. Do some career exploration and gather all the information you need. Then make a decision and go forward. Outline the action steps to reach your career goal. Finding meaning, passion and purpose every day you go to work is the wonderful reward, so don’t wait any longer. Begin right now and set in motion your own plan to live a happier, more satisfying life. Which is the best title of the passage?
| A．Suggestions on How to Build a More Meaningful Career |
| B．Steps on How to Live Happily and Comfortably |
| C．Do not Hate Your Job Any Longer. |
| D．Find Out Your Natural Talents and Make a Success. |
According to the passage, by analyzing ourselves, we can .
| A．know the true meaning of our life |
| B．understand better about the career we want |
| C．find out our own unique genius and talents |
| D．improve relations with our family and friends |
The purpose in writing this passage is to _____.
| A．persuade people to work hard to make a happier life |
| B．reveal some wrong-doings at work |
| C．direct people to choose their career |
| D．give some solutions to deal with troubles at work |
Light for the City
Edison and his assistants came to New York to set up an electric power system. They hoped it would provide enough electricity to light up a part of the great city.
They bought several machines with them. These were called generators, which produced electricity power for lamps in Edison’s building.
Soon there were lights for the building. Edison lived in a room facing the street and he often worked over night. The light burned brightly and steadily and he often worked over night. People often came and stopped their horse-drawn carriage to look. Everyone knew that Thomas Edison was in town.
First, the inventor and his assistants produced several large generators. A great deal of power would be needed to light up even a small part of the city.
Then the workers were busy digging deep trenches(沟) in the hard earth below the city streets, and Edison had fourteen miles of wire laid into the trenches. The wire connected each building to a generator.
Setting up an electric power system was not an easy job. It took a year and a half. In September, 1882, the job was finished.
A small group of men stood around Edison inside the power house. The big moment came at last. The inventor, taking a deep breath, pulled a switch. The electric lights flashed up.
“Very good! Very good!” a man nearby shouted to praise Edison for what he had done.
“Sir,” said Edison, “this is only the beginning!” And Edison was right. Soon Edison’s lamp were lighting up cities all over the world.The generators they brought with them could produce as much as electricity as ______ needed.
| A．Edison’s building | B．a small part of the city | C．the whole city | D．the world |
At that time carriages ______ by horse could be seen in the street.
| A．draw | B．drew | C．drawn | D．drawing |
Trenches were dug to ______.
| A．set up generators | B．lay wires | C．built city streets | D．build a power house |
It took a year and a half to ______.
| A．set up the electric system | B．produce several large generators |
| C．dig the deep trenches | D．lay fourteen miles of wire into the trench |
Smiling
People smile at times. However, the meaning of a smile in different cultures may be different. Depending on different cultures, smiling can express joy and amusement, but it can also indicate embarrassment（苦恼）. The following examples show this point of view:
In an attempt to be open and friendly, people in the United States smile a lot. Every one smiles at each other, this nonverbal communication shows being friendly in the United States. However，in China, smiling is not only an expression of happiness, but also a way to avoid being embarrassed. Chinese people like smiling when they are embarrassed in order to avoid embarrassment. Smiling is a kind of good will but not sneer（嘲笑）. For example: When a child falls off from a bike, the adults in China may smile, which is a kind of gentle encouragement and may not be a kind of impolite laugh.
When a person from the United States might blush（脸红）with embarrassment or become offensive, a Chinese might blush with smile. To avoid serious misunderstanding, people who engage in intercultural communication should be able to understand the meaning of smiling appropriately. Related to the smile is the laugh. Also, different cultures have different meanings about laugh. For example, Americans can enjoy a very heartfelt belly (腹部) laugh that comes from the deepest emotions. However, most Chinese seldom laugh that way because they are thought to be silly except among close friends. We can use smile to express all of the following feelings except_________,
| A．joy and happiness | B．amusement | C．embarrassment | D．fear |
People often smile at each other in the United States because_________.
| A．they are very happy | B．they want to show they are friendly |
| C．they want to hide their true feelings | D．they want to avoid embarrassment |
In China, seeing a child falls off a bike, an adult will smile in order to ________.
| A．laugh at him | B．avoid his own embarrassment |
| C．avoid embarrassment and encourage the boy | D．show his politeness |
What is mainly talked about in the passage?
| A．People smile at times. | B．Smiling can express different feelings depending on different cultures. |
| C．Americans are more open and friendly than Chinese people. | |
| D．The Chinese people often hide their true feelings. |
Bill Robinson is on trial for murder（因谋杀而受审）．He grew up in a small town in Ohio and then went to Kent State University for one year．When he was nineteen years old，he was asked to join the army and was soon sent to fight in Vietnam．He was very unhappy there as he hated the war and he hated killing people．Two years later he returned home and tried to pick up where he had left off，but things were never quite the same again for the young black man．For one thing，he always had terrible dreams about the war．He could not concentrate on his studies and soon he had to leave school．Then he was fired from one job after another．He wanted to meet someone nice and get married，but he just couldn't seem to get close to anyone．He became angry easily and people avoided him．He was always lonely．Finally one day，while eating at a restaurant，Bill lost control of himself and shot someone for no reason at all．Bill's lawyer hopes that he will not be held responsible for the shooting．He hopes that the judge and the jury（陪审团）will understand that Bill was“temporarily insane（一时精神错乱）”and did not really choose to kill anyone． What did Bill Robinson do after he returned from abroad？
| A．He gave up the chance to go back to college． | B．He tried to go back to his normal life． |
| C．He picked up his things and left again． | D．He found what he had dreamed of． |
He failed to complete his college education because he ____ ．
| A．hated school | B．joined the army |
| C．didn't study hard | D．found it difficult to keep his mind on his studies |
He never married because ____ ．
| A．there were no nice girls around | B．he didn't care to meet any girls |
| C．he hadn't met girls that he liked | D．he found it hard to make friends with girls |
The best title for this article is ____ ．
| A．Robinson on Trial | B．Murder at a Restaurant |
| C．A Young Black Man | D．A Victim of the Vietnam War |
For thousands of years, man has enjoyed the taste of apples. Apples, which are about 85 percent water, grow almost everywhere in the world but the hottest and coldest areas (地区). Among the leading countries in apple production are China, France and the United States.
There are various kinds of apples, but a very few make up the majority of those grown for sale. The three most common kinds grown in the United States are Delicious, golden Delicious, and McIntosh.
Apples are different in colour, size, and taste. The colour of the skin may be red, green, or yellow. They have various sizes, with Delicious apples being among the largest. The taste may be sweet or tart (酸的). Generally, sweet apples are eaten fresh while tart apples are used to make applesauce (苹果酱).
Apple trees may grow as tall as twelve metres. They do best in areas that have very cold winters. Although no fruit is yielded during the winter, this cold period is good for the tree. It can be learned from the text that delicious apples are _______________
| A．grown in France. | B．sold everywhere. | C．very big. | D．quite sweet. |
Cold winter weather is good for _______________
| A．the growth of apple trees. | B．producing large apples. |
| C．improving the taste of apples. | D．the increase of water in apples. |
China, France and the United States are considered to _______________
| A．be large producers of apples. | B．be large producers of applesauce. |
| C．have the longest history in apple production. | |
| D．have the coldest winter among apple producing countries. |
It’s not the first movie to show the end of the world. But in the latest box office hit 2012 it is neither aliens nor a killer disease that threaten the human race, but climate change.
Some say the film lacks good dialogue and its science is questionable， others believe German director Roland Emmerich makes up for these flaws in special effects. An earthquake destroys the White House and Yellow stone National Park ends up in flames．
Emmerich borrows from the old Mayan(玛雅人的) story which says, that the world will end in 2012．He is being criticized for fuelling Internet rumors(传闻) about doomsday(世界末日)
“There is no factual basis for these claims,’’ NASA said on its website. “Credible(可信赖的) scientists worldwide know of no threat connected with 2012,’’ it insisted. “After all, our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, ” they added．
According to the UK’s Daily Telegraph, it was first thought that the disaster would happen in May 2003. When the world continued, supporters picked the last day of the Mayan calendar．
“Every culture has a myth(传说) of destruction(毁灭), just as they have a myth of creation. These myths |of destruction tend to surface(重新出现) during times of crisis(危机), ” Michael A. Ryan, an assistant profess of history，speaking to Purdue University News. Ryan studies apocalyptic(像世界末日的) themes from the Middle Ages at the US university. “Today’s current economic climate is a state of crisis for many people who are worried whether they can afford to feed themselves,”he added. What led to the end of the world according to the film 2012?
| A．Aliens． | B．The human race． | C．Climate change． | D．A killer disease． |
What does the underlined word “fuelling’’ in the third paragraph refer to?
| A．Making sth. stronger．． | B．Putting gas into a car． |
| C．Producing power or heat． | D．Burning |
Which of the following statements about the film 2012 is TRUE according to the text?
| A．A big fire destroys Yellow-stone National Park． |
| B．All scientists in the world know of no threat connected with 2012． |
| C． The old Mayan story says that the world will end in |
| D．Every culture has a myth of destruction rather than creation |
Why do the rumors about doomsday come about now and then?
| A．Because during times of crisis, people tend to worry about their future． |
| B．Because aliens often threaten the human race． |
| C．Because killer diseases happen at times． |
| D． Because the old Mayan story says that the world will |